Slip of the tongue
by Caskett1
Summary: They can't do this here, not with Gates next door, they can't – but she's frozen in place, can't make a move even if her life depended on it. And then she feels his hands on her ankles, slowly inching higher, feels his fingertips lightly caressing her calves, his warm breath hitting her skin. "Castle", she chokes out. "We can't…" - Will be a three-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own anything.**

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They were leaning next to each other against her desk in front of the murder board, studying the timeline, pictures of the victim, witnesses and possible suspects. From time to time, Castle would get up, re-arrange some photos, add a question or possible lead to the equation.

Beckett was silently waiting, studying his profile - the little frown between his eyes, how his face lit up when he got an idea. He looked downright delicious this evening, and she had a hard time controlling her body's reaction to him.

The bullpen was deserted, lit only by the dim lights of her desk lamp and the hallways. They were the only ones here, and it felt strangely familiar and foreign all at once. Ever since she came back to the force, and Gates had found out about their relationship, he was kind of banned from the bullpen, meaning he was not allowed to take part in cases anymore.

She missed it.

Missed their banter, their theory building. Missed him sitting (not so) patiently in his chair, staring at her, occasionally playing angry birds. Missed him goofing around with the boys. Missed his wit, his outlandish theories at a crime scene, his suggestive eye brow wiggle.

She just missed _him_. Period.

Granted, they were together every other minute of the day and night, when she wasn't working. But _still_…

She needed her partner. Not just to lighten the day while at work, no, but also for solving cases with her. She knew she was perfectly capable to do that herself, but she was always _so_ much better with him. They completed each other, and she was far past the point of denying it – to herself and to Castle.

So they had taken to sneak him into the bullpen late at night, when she was at her wit's end and just needed another perspective on a case. Thinking outside the box was his forte, and it was exactly what she needed right now.

The last week had been especially tiring for the whole team, every possible lead turning out to be a dead end. So she just wasn't able to shut her mind off when Castle came by this evening to pick her up for a casual night out in town.

That's how they ended up here – she dressed in a light soft summer dress, not too casual, but not too formal either; he dressed in a light suit, his blue button down open at the neck, bringing out his eyes. They decided to just sneak into the precinct for him to have a quick look at the murder board, see if there was anything standing out to him that could help with the case.

But now, half an hour later, leaning on her desk next to him, inhaling his after shave, replaying memories of old times with him as part of the team, she suddenly is not that interested in the case anymore.

In fact, all she can think about is his hard, solid body next to her, the occasional shoulder brush when he gets up to scribble something on the board, his hand coming to rest next to hers on the table when he's sitting down again. She's devouring him with her eyes, trying to control herself, to let him spin his theories in peace, but…yeah, she has it bad. _Real_ bad.

Suddenly he looks back to her, probably wanting to tell her a new idea, his eyes sparkling with excitement. Adorable…and _hot_.

That's when he notices her looking at him. She sees him freeze - his words stuck in his throat, he inhales sharply – his eyes darken considerably, quite probably in response to that smoldering look she always throws him…before she's ready to rip his shirt off.

Suddenly the air is frizzling with tension. Her eyes dart to his lips for a fraction of a second, his breath hitches, he mimics her move, and then she feels her feet moving closer of their own accord.

Her arms snake around his neck, and she starts nibbling at his jaw, moves to his mouth, her tongue darting out to swipe against his lips, _so_ _good_, she can't breathe, feels him responding, his mouth hot, and wet, and demanding against hers.

She feels a moan vibrating in her chest, trying to bubble up, and she wants – _she wants_ – oh, _oh_, she feels his hands on her thighs, just above her knees, inching slowly higher and – oh, this feels so _good_, she can't, can't – and, _oh_ – her breath hitches, her hips jerk up, he's almost – _yes, oh god_, just - just a little_ higher_, -

And then she jerks away, suddenly remembering where they are and what they are supposed to do.

_Jeez_, - they came here so he could sneak a quick peek at their case, maybe pitch in some ideas, and then they were supposed to leave to this cute little restaurant, and - _yeah, way to go Kate, _they are at the precinct, damn it.

Standing in front of each other, breathing heavily, she tries to reign it in, tries to think of something else than his soft skin under her fingertips, his solid hard chest pressing against her - _stop_ it, Kate.

By the looks of it he's not faring any better, takes a step towards her –

"Murder board, Castle…the case," she chokes out.

She sees him balling his fists at his sides, desire flashing in his dark eyes, then he clears his throat, swallows hard and turns around, and yeah – she is not disappointed by his self restraint, she's _not_. No, just –

Suddenly he bends down to the floor to retrieve the marker he let go of when he crushed her to his body earlier.

She is presented with a very nice view of his behind, sticking up in the air as he reaches under her desk – and she feels the sudden coil of arousal tightening low in her belly again, swallows and - oh Kate, _don't_ think about it, but she can't concentrate, can't - _uh_, she feels herself reaching out, taking one step closer – and…

The elevator chimes behind her, she jumps around, and suddenly her heart rate is spiking through the roof for entirely different reasons.

"Captain Gates, sir," she chokes out, surprised, feels Castle freeze on the ground for a second before he scrambles further under her desk to hide from view. She's _so_ glad he lost the marker earlier…

"Detective Beckett," Gates nods to her. "What are you doing here so late on a Friday night?"

She comes closer, rounds the corner, and…Kate frantically tries to stop her eyes from darting to the ground below her desk, tries to stop her heart beating violently in her chest, convinced Gates was able to hear it.

"I…, I…it's just…this case," she stammers, clears her throat, tries to sound calm and composed. "I was on my way to go out, but I had an idea so I came here to look into it really quick."

She silently hopes she sounds convincing, hopes Castle would stay stock still under her desk. Suddenly Gates is coming closer, standing next to her at her desk and _oh God_, she can't – she's freaking out, she can't breathe, _no, no, no_, this is _not_ happening.

Kate takes a step forward, comes to stand directly in front of her desk, tries to push her chair inconspicuously in front of where Castle is hiding. They cannot get caught, not with Kate already on thin ice as it is, the Captain watching her every move after her return to the force.

Gates takes a look at the murder board, let's her eyes skim over the questions and facts Castle has just added minutes earlier.

"Well Detective, it seems you've come no closer to solving the case, so maybe you should go home, or…" arching her eyebrow, Gates lets her eyes swipe briefly over Kate, takes in her appearance, "…on your date? Take the night off, come back tomorrow with fresh eyes."

Kate feels her face flush, oh _crap_. She can't leave yet, _Castle _– she can't leave him here with _Gates_, hiding under her desk. _Oh shit_.

"Uh…I, if you don't mind, I'd like to take another look, I still have some time left before…" trailing off she looked at Gates' disapproving face.

"If that's what you want, don't let me stop you, but you _do_ look tired and worn out, don't stay too long." With that Gates turned around, heading for her office.

"If you don't mind me asking, Sir, but what are _you_ doing here this late? It is a Friday night after all."

_Uh_, stupid Kate, _stupid_, she shouldn't question her _Captain_, drawing more attention to herself, nonetheless. But she needs to _know_ - she needs to know how long Gates is staying – she _needs_ to get Castle out of here.

Gates turns around, regards her for a second with an odd look.

"I need to type up some last minute report for the commissioner that he needs first thing tomorrow morning. He called an hour ago. I won't stay long either."

With that she steps into her office, leaving her door partly open. Kate feels her breath whooshing out of her, _ugh_ – what to do, what –

Her eyes fly to her desk, she pulls the chair away and stares into Castle's wide and slightly terrified eyes. But before she can utter a single syllable, she hears Gates call her from the office.

"Detective Beckett, may I borrow your stapler for a minute, mine is broken?"

She whirls around, her heart rate suddenly spiking up again, Gates pokes her head out and Kate tries not to stumble as she darts forward to get the stapler before the Captain can come too close to her desk again. When she gets back she sinks in her chair and tries to calm her racing heart.

She rolls closer to the desk as not to draw the Captains attention any further, whispering to Castle, "Stay down there, hopefully she'll be gone in no time. We'll wait her out," while reaching for her desk drawer so that she's able to look at him inconspicuously.

What she sees makes her heart stop. Castle is crouching under her desk, staring at her thighs, mouth slightly open, swallowing hard.

_Oh God_.

Suddenly Kate's aware of the fact that she's just wearing a light summer dress this evening – _just_ the dress.

She kind of did forego the underwear, because she wanted to surprise him later that night. Drive him a little bit crazy. Yeah well, - it's backfiring now on her tremendously. _Oh God_. She suddenly feels a wave of arousal low in her belly, - and between her legs. _Oh shit_.

Castle's eyes darken to black pools of liquid, his tongue darts out, moistens his lips and he slowly reaches for her chair, pulls it closer – she wants to get up, run for the hills –

They can't _do_ this here, not with Gates next door, they _can't_ – but she's frozen in place, can't make a move even if her life depended on it.

And then she feels his hands on her ankles, slowly inching higher, feels his fingertips lightly caressing her calves, his warm breath hitting her skin.

"Castle," she chokes out. "We can't…"

Suddenly his lips are trailing a hot, wet path up her legs, and she chokes on her breath, her whole body jerking forward – oh God, she's not going to survive this.

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**A/N:** So I'm actually freakin' excited and also a little nervous about this story – it's my very first fanfic. Sometime back in March/April an A/N by **madsthenerdygirl** gave me an idea which kept bugging me ever since. To acknowledge that, I actually went back to her page to look for this A/N - thank God, she writes mostly one-shots, so it didn't take too long until I found it. ;) It was in her story "You Have No Idea" and was actually a prompt from someone for her: "I'm certain you could write smut between a table and a chair and make it awesome." Well, since then I had this idea which I just couldn't get out of my head.

After the brilliance of "Always" I felt inspired, sat down and wrote this first chapter within an hour - well, what can I say, that's how inspiring the finale was. ;) But then real life happened and despite a couple of times thinking about this fic, I just couldn't find the time to actually finish it. That was until all these delicious spoilers and promo pis started to show up and – with my mind constantly in the gutter – I suddenly felt the need to come back to it. ;)

So I asked **kimmiesjoy** if I could mail her the first chapter to see if it's any good, and also, so she could act as some kind of motivation (since I sometimes need a kick in the a** to keep going). She excelled at the job expectations and actually called it #crackingtheficwhip last night. LOL So thank you **kimmiesjoy** for acting as my 'fic dom' ;) and also as my sounding board concerning language barriers. I really appreciate it. ;)

Also, English isn't my first language, so if you should find any mistakes, feel free to tell me. I'm always open to improvement. Other than that, this story will certainly go to M with the next chapter, although it won't be anything too graphic. I think. ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own anything.**

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Her mouth is completely dry, her heart rate accelerating, her whole body trembling with arousal, anticipation and fear of getting caught.

She can't _see_ him, can only _anticipate_ his next move and _God_, if this isn't turning her on that much more, making the whole thing even more exciting and hot. _God Castle_…Her blood is sizzling in her veins, she feels lightheaded and she can't –

Suddenly she feels him secure the brakes of the chair before his hands follow the path of his mouth, trailing enticingly over her calves before letting his nails scrape along the hollow behind her knees, putting the slightest pressure there, massaging, almost bordering on tickling before branching out and going further up on the outside of her thighs.

His tongue though – the devious little thing – keeps going up the inside of her legs, and _oh God_ she has to, absolutely _has to_, suppress a loud moan when she feels him biting down, nipping her hot flesh with his teeth before soothing it with his tongue, all the while simultaneously reaching with his hands behind her, grabbing her butt and pulling her hips all the way to the edge of her seat.

The move is so sudden – in her defense she _was_ distracted by his oh so talented, _talented_ mouth – she can't entirely suppress a little squeak – _shit_…

A loud clank and her pens are flying, rolling dangerously close to the edge of her desk, before they are stopped by a stack of folders. In an attempt to cover her mouth with her hands she accidentally knocked over the freaking pen holder - God damn it, get a grip Kate –

Her eyes, until then squeezed shut, fly open and to the window of Gates' office, only to see the eyes of her Captain being directed at her, an eyebrow arched high in question.

She barely manages a sheepish shrug of her shoulders, mouthing "sorry" before she drops her head a little, her hair shielding her from Gates' disapproving stare, her eyelids drooping, a delicious heat pooling between her thighs, _flooding_ her really because Castle's freaking _blowing_ on her, seemingly unfazed by the commotion above his head; and she can't keep the low moan bubbling up in her chest contained, sets it free and tries to cover it up with the righting of the pen holder, putting it down a little too loud, a little too forcefully, and she feels Castle grin against the inside of her thighs, the little _bastard_ –

And then it's his tongue she feels, darting out, tracing along her. She sucks in a ragged breath of surprise, rocking forward a bit, straining to get closer, her traitorous body betraying her – because they absolutely _cannot_ do this here, with Gates sitting only a few feet away, can they?

Oh God help her, apparently they can because now he's licking her in earnest, suckling on her, biting down a little bit but studiously avoiding the little spot where she so desperately needs him, longs for him to touch her and- _ugh_, so _frustrating,_ so – oh sweet Jesus, _yesss _- so _good_.

Another moan bubbles up in her chest and it's all she can do to keep it from spilling out while biting down on her lip forcefully, drawing blood...but then he's suddenly licking and sucking her right _there_, the clever flick of his tongue and scraping of his teeth driving her absolutely _insane_.

Her hips jerk up of their own volition, her knees hitting the underside of her desk, the pain from it being the perfect counterpart to the delicious things his tongue is doing to her. They will be bruised tomorrow but she's already beyond caring - the feel of his tongue against her, his teeth scraping her sensible flesh is just too perfect.

Her breathing speeds up, she feels a flush spreading up her neck, her lips parting, her breathing labored, eyelids growing heavy.

Her nails digging into her palms, knuckles turning white, she tries to remain somewhat upright on her desk, tries to compose a sitting position, as if she's pouring over some files, but it's getting harder to maintain that air of nonchalance when all she feels is hot and bothered, _wanton_ really and –

_God_, she can't contain the whimper, a low keening noise in her throat, feels his responding - no doubt - smug smile against her thigh. Oh, this _infuriating, frustrating – _his pointed little tongue delving deep inside her – _glorious…glorious man_.

She rocks forward, her hips moving in tight little circles against his mouth, all the while feeling his stubble roughly brushing the inside of her thighs. She lets out a shuddering breath, feels her blood pumping through her veins, making her dizzy with need -

Out of her peripheral vision she sees Gates moving in her office, getting up from her desk to retrieve a file from the shelf behind her, sitting down again, and suddenly Kate remembers _why_ exactly they can't do this right now. The risk of getting caught is too high, so she tries to control her body, tries to pull away, put an end to this insanity by whispering frantically, or _choking_ really,

"Stop Castle – _oh...oh yes, yes God_ – _no,_ no stop, we can't … you have to …" but his hold on her tightens and then – _oh_, he's doing this little trick with his tongue and she's squeezing her eyes shut tightly, her hand shooting out and under the table to reach for his head, hair, _whatever_ she can grab, trying to push him away while simultaneously pulling him closer, not able to decide -

But then he's taking her completely into his mouth, sucking, licking, breathing, _feasting_ on her and it's too much – heaven help her, but – _screw it_, she's yanking him forward, pushing his mouth even closer to her, suffocating him, her nails digging sharply into his scalp, fingers twisting his hair in such a forceful manner it must be absolutely painful but he doesn't stop, doesn't slow down, and she rocks forward while dropping her head into her arm on the table, curling her hand inwards and biting down hard on the skin of her thumb, trying to keep in the keening noises she feels deep in her throat.

Heat pooling low in her belly she feels the first fluttering of her orgasm trying to take over her body and it's all too much, she can't – _oh God_ she's absolutely _helpless_, can't do _anything_ to hold it off, won't be able to keep quiet, _oh please heaven help her_ –

"Detective Beckett, are you alright?" the sharp voice of the Captain suddenly cutting like a bucket of ice water into the bubble of bliss she was slipping into.

Jerking her head up, she turns wide-eyed to Gates, her heart beating so wildly she's certain she's close to a heart attack, chest heaving and her face flushed with arousal which turns rapidly to one of mortification and absolute _terror_.

She feels Castle freeze on the spot, feels his nails dig painfully into her thighs, somehow providing the perfect kind of pain to keep her grounded, to _not_ jump up in reflex, hurting herself in the process and certainly giving them away, since her chair would not have budged due to the secured brakes, holy _fuck_ –

"You look a bit feverish there, Detective, are you sure you're not coming down with something?"

Choking, she breaks into a fit of coughing while feeling the vibrations of Castle's own choke and silent laughter quiver against her legs, where he's resting his mouth against – and God help her but she _will kill_ him for this-

"Detective?"

Gates is still waiting for an answer apparently, but her brain is completely wiped, there is nothing she can think of, can't even remember the damn question…

"Maybe you should go home, if you're coming down with a cold, or worse, the flu, I do not want you to spread your germs in my precinct."

Ah, ok, _feverish, cold, flu_, she can work with that, can find something –

"No, no, Sir, don't worry…" she rasps out, her voice sounding huskier than intended and damn it, she's playing right into Gates' theory of being sick and it's really the perfect explanation, if it weren't for the fact that she can absolutely _not_ go home, at least not without Castle, so really she needs to come up with something, some kind of explanation, there has to be _something_ –

But then she sees it, the coat hanging from the Captain's arm, the dark office behind her – Gates is done, she's going home, _leaving_… and the relief suddenly flooding her is indescribable.

"It's nothing to worry about, really, I'm fine Sir, just…finishing up with this last file, and then I'll be going home as well, I promise."

Meeting the suspicious looking eyes of Gates, she tries to keep her face blank of all emotions, even going for a reassuring smile, although she's sure it comes out a bit crooked.

Well, she _is_ supposed to be sick, right? Sick people normally do not look all bright and happy, so a somewhat painful looking smile shouldn't raise any suspicion, right?

Thankfully Gates seems to agree with her because she makes a little sound in the back of her throat. Kate can't really tell if it's one of agreement or disapproval, doesn't really care as long as Gates is _leaving_ in the next ten seconds.

"Very well, Detective, don't be too long, go home and get some rest, we have a murder to solve and I need my people at the top of their game. Good night." With that Gates turns around, heading for the elevator.

As soon as the doors close behind the Captain, the breath Kate has been holding is whooshing out of her, the tension leaving her body immediately, her hands now trembling out of relief instead of nervousness.

She wants to laugh, suddenly downright giddy with relief. But then she remembers she ought to be absolutely _mad_ at the man hiding under her desk, because really, what was he _thinking_, ambushing her like that, doing all those delicious things to her with Gates next door?!

Oh she will give him _hell_, prepares for an onslaught of expletives, leans back a little in her chair, the backrest flexible enough so she can look under her desk, but what she sees leaves her immediately breathless (_again_).

The words are dying in her throat and – _oh God, too late _– the blatant lust swirling in his dark eyes and his tongue flicking over his lips, preparing himself for what's to come, are her absolute undoing.

Her body still tingling with arousal, reacts of its own accord, she jerks her hips forward at the same time he's diving in again, and God help her but it's all she can do to hold on while he's devouring her.

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**A/N:** Thank you everybody, for all the reviews, story alerts and favorites. This is so freakin' awesome, you have no idea! ;)

Also, isn't it amazing that ABC released this wonderful promo pic right on time when I got ready to publish this story? Gah, I can't even...


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own anything.

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She lets out a loud moan, because now she _can _– and _God_ it feels _so good_ and liberating.

If she's being honest with herself, reprimanding him earlier would have been just for show…no, not _just_ for show, but on principle, because the things he did – still _does_ to her, oh who was she kidding –

_Heavenly. Absolutely mind numbing. Delicious_. _Perfect._

She suddenly jerks forward violently, letting out a little cry of surprise and…absolute _delight_ when she feels him slipping a finger inside of her.

She needs…oh, _oh_…yeah, _yes,_ exactly – _that_.

She gasps, her eyes roll back and she has to grit her teeth as he adds another finger, his mouth and tongue never letting go, vicious and unrelenting against her. He curls his fingers inside her, seeking and quickly _finding, _and the noises coming from her are bordering on desperate.

"Please, oh God Castle, _please_…" She should be embarrassed to be reduced to this begging and sobbing version of herself but she couldn't care less, not if it spurs him on, makes him groan against her in response, the vibrations shooting violently through her body, driving her rapidly closer to the edge.

She can't for the life of her stop the keening noises escaping her, high-pitched and desperate when he sucks at her little bundle of nerves, flicks his tongue rapidly over it – again and again.

Like there is no tomorrow.

"God," she breathes, her hips bucking up against his talented mouth, the sharp flick of his tongue, the scraping of his teeth. She's panting heavily, her chest heaving, strands of damp hair sticking to the sides of her face.

By now she's lying back in her chair as far as she can go, her otherwise constricted confines not giving her any leverage to move or _do_ anything except grab the armrests for dear life, trying to hold on…

Opening her eyes, she looks down, sees him crouched under her desk, his face buried between her thighs peering up at her, his eyes almost black with desire, _watching_ her – and _fuck_ if this doesn't completely do it for her.

He lightly bites down on her, his teeth scraping and nibbling her little nub and heat shoots through her whole body like a flame, leaves her tingling all over, arousal and want flaring up inside her, _God_ so much _want_ –

She's grinding against him, wildly thrashing and writhing, bucking her hips against his mouth uncontrollably, no longer able to think straight in her lust swamped state. She feels it coil low in her belly, slowly building up, driving her ever closer to the edge and –

And then he just…stops, merely an inch away from her, not moving, just hovering, _breathing_ hotly over her, _fucking teasing_ her and _no, no, no, please_, she needs…_needs_ him to just –

She nearly sobs, can't stop the needy, desperate whimpers escaping her lips, oh God _please_, she would do anything at this point, _anything_ to just –

And then he's on her again, all tongue and teeth and curling stroking fingers, groaning and growling against her, and it's all encompassing and she's breaking apart against his mouth and fingers, her orgasm ripping through her like a tidal wave, strong and with so much power it leaves her completely wrecked in its wake. Clenching hard around his fingers, incoherently sobbing his name over and over again she rides it out, wave after wave crashing into her, chasing after one other, turning her whole world into one of absolute bliss.

Her eyes blink open, still hazy and unfocused. Trying to clear her vision she lifts her head from the back of her chair, looks down at him, boneless and completely spent.

Sated.

He must have loosened the brakes of the chair and rolled it back because he's standing up now, lifting her in his arms, sitting down in her chair and cradling her in his lap. She's still too out of it to do much about it – not that she wants to. He's watching her with such tenderness and awe it sets off all kinds of butterflies in her stomach, her heart brimming over with love for this man. _God, she has it bad_.

"Kate, that was…God, you're beautiful."

Mmmhhh. Yeah.

She has it bad. _Real_ bad.

Suddenly she realizes she hasn't kissed him at all, wasn't able to the whole time and that just won't fly. She snakes her arms around his neck and crashes her mouth to his with such urgency, trying to convey everything she's feeling with this one kiss. Catching his lower lip with her teeth, she's biting down lightly, nibbling on him before slipping her tongue into his mouth, stroking relentlessly, tasting him and herself on his tongue, eliciting a moan from both of them.

Feeling his arousal pressing hard against her causes her to come back and face the reality of still being at the precinct and _God_ she feels bad but they can't, they really shouldn't –

She breaks away reluctantly, peppering small soft kisses to his mouth, meeting his gaze, guilty and apologetic. "Rick, we can't…"

"I know, I know, sorry, we should probably…yeah," He trails off, a myriad of emotions passing through his eyes – guilt, arousal, giddiness, love, even a little bit of embarrassment.

God, he's adorable.

Clearing his throat he tries to bring some levity, normalcy to the intense situation which had just transpired. "Tell you what, why don't you go to the bathroom, freshen up a bit and I'll go make you some coffee. Then we just forget about the murder board tonight, get out of here and try to make our reservation."

The _murder board_.

Well, she already had forgotten all about it, thank you very much. God, what is this man doing to her?

She scrambles off his lap, stands on still slightly shaky legs and drops a slow and languid kiss to his mouth, grateful for his understanding. "Thank you." She throws him a shy smile and disappears in the bathroom.

By the time she emerges again, he's waiting with a cup of coffee at her desk, looking mostly composed although still a little bit aroused.

But by now she had had time to freak out about their little _interlude_ and the very high possibility of getting caught by Gates, or anyone for that matter. She can't _believe_ she's been this reckless and it scares and excites her at the same time. The danger of discovery adding a thrill to the whole incident like nothing she has ever experienced before.

So _hot_.

But _still_…

"God Rick, what have we done, what exactly was that?"

He's waggling his eyebrows, smirking suggestively. "What, you couldn't tell? I seem to lose my – "

"_Castle!_ You know exactly what I mean. God, what if Gates had caught us, what if …"

"But she didn't, Kate. And really, it's not my fault you weren't wearing anything _under_ your dress."

A hot flush spreads up her neck at that, still, she's leveling him with her best death glare, daring him to say anything more on that particular subject.

"Sorry, it just…well it just happened, I couldn't help…it was…an accident?" He's stumbling over his words by now.

Kind of adorable.

It was also good to know she hasn't lost her touch and the Kate Beckett death glare was still working on him…well, at least sometimes. Not so much earlier though…

Softening but not able to resist teasing him a bit, she snorts "An accident? Really? What, you just…slipped…with your…tongue?" He barks out a laugh, surprised and…delighted.

"Yes, yes, exactly. I slipped with my tongue. _Completely_ on accident. But if I remember correctly, I didn't hear you complaining at the time…," he trails of suggestively.

And just like that wise ass-Castle was back.

_God_. He was _infuriating_.

She can't help it, her mind flashes back to all the delicious things his _glorious_ tongue did to her under that desk, and _oh_, she will never be able to look at it in the same way again. How was she supposed to ever _work_ at it, without thinking about what happened there tonight?

Just the thought of it causes a low tightening in her belly again, and she can't help the slight blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Ha, I always knew you loved my tongue, Kate," a smug smirk playing on his face, eyes twinkling with mischief and something else, something darker, something suspiciously looking like –

"Especially when it's _slipping_ against – "

"_Castle,_" she slaps him on the chest, scowling at him, but it loses its desired effect because it's layered with so much amusement and arousal.

_Uh_, she's hopeless.

And _of course_ he sees it in her eyes, his body reacting instantly, his eyes turning to a darker shade of blue and –

"Rick, our reservation…aren't you hungry anymore?" she rasps out, trying to keep them out of dangerous territory, especially since they are still at the precinct.

He fully turns to her then, all dark eyes blazing with desire, stalks to her with predatory precision.

"Hungry? Oh, I'm hungry alright. I'm _famished_," he growls, fucking _growls_, and she feels hot flames of arousal flaring up in her again, and _God_ they need to get out of here, like _right now_! Or she can't be held responsible for her actions anymore.

"Castle…elevator…now!" she chokes out, sees his eyes widen slightly and then narrowing to dark slits. _Fuck_.

_Not_ what she meant.

Not at all.

But if this doesn't give her some ideas…but no, _no_, they need to get _home _or at least out of here. They were lucky they hadn't been caught tonight, but she wasn't willing to tempt fate.

Uh, _fate_.

He has ruined her.

Completely and utterly ruined her.

And she doesn't even care.

God, she loves him.

So much, it's probably not healthy anymore.

He's still advancing on her, crowding her back in the direction of the elevator, and she needs to clear up their slight _misunderstanding_ before it's too late.

"Castle, no, uh not…not what I…"

But before she can say anything more, the sudden ding of the elevator makes them jump, both freezing in their movements, turning wide-eyed to the opening doors and –

_God,_ this can't be happening, _no, no, just no_, there's absolutely _no_ way…

"Mr. Castle? What are _you_ doing here?"

The sharp voice of Victoria _Iron_ Gates cuts through the silence of the bullpen.

She's frozen, completely frozen to her spot, her mind trying to keep up with the scene unfolding in front of her.

It's too much.

She's not able to grasp it – absolutely stunned and terrified at the same time, wishing the ground would just swallow her up and end this whole nightmare she's apparently trapped in.

Castle doesn't seem to fare much better if his slack-jawed expression was anything to go by.

"Mr. Castle?"

"I…uh, yeah, I…was just picking up Kate, you know, she called, said she didn't feel well, and…yeah."

Oh, _thank God_ for this man and his writer's mind, always able to come up with a story, or at the very least _remembering _the story she told Gates earlier. She thinks the amount of praying she did tonight is enough to last her an entire life time.

"Well, Mr. Castle, I certainly hope for you that you were just going down - ?"

_Going down, huh?_

"Oh yes. Yes, I believe I was." _In more ways than one_… his barely contained smirk seemed to say, his gaze flicking briefly to her, letting her see the small twinkle behind his eyes.

Dead. He was _so dead_!

She feels the blush rising in her cheeks and, _God_ she _will_ get him back for this.

"That's good to hear, Mr. Castle. Wouldn't want you to get any crazy ideas, while being up here."

"Crazy ideas? No, uh…no crazy ideas, Sir," his answer comes a bit choked and _a lot_ distracted.

_God_, she can actually _see_ how he's getting lost in his memories of earlier, conjuring up images in his mind no doubt, and she just _needs_ him to focus because _she_ certainly isn't able to, the shock of being confronted with Gates – _again - _just too much for her.

"Good, because one of your wildly construed theories is the last thing we need right now. So maybe you should take Detective Beckett home now, cure her fever?"

She chokes a little at that but Castle just continues to stare off into space, still absorbed in his memories, and Kate starts to twitch nervously, feeling Gates' questioning and slightly annoyed gaze flick to her and then back to him. _God Rick, focus!_

"Cat got your tongue tonight, Mr. Castle?"

"What...uh, no actually, _Kate_ got my…" He trails of…apparently realizing what he was about to say and -

She gapes at him, her jaw probably hitting the floor and…_oh God_, she can't _believe_ he just said that, can't believe –

She will _definitely _kill him later. His eyes fly to her, terrified and panic-stricken before returning quickly to Gates.

"Uh…I mean,…well, I uh…sorry, what was the question? I got a bit distracted there. Maybe we should go home now. Get some rest. Good night, Sir."

With that he sidesteps the Captain, pulling her with him and quickly ushering her into the elevator.

Gates watches them suspiciously, looking him up and down like he has completely lost it – she thinks maybe she has to agree with her there - , then lets her gaze turn to Kate, eying her with a stern look.

"Well, I forgot a file earlier, I'll be out of here in a minute as well, if I catch you two still lurking around here…let's just say it won't be pretty." With that she turns around, heading for her office while the doors of the elevator close on them.

She turns to him with wide and disbelieving eyes, gaping at him while meeting his terrified and sheepish gaze.

"Slip of the tongue?" he offers.

She chokes on her coffee – hard.

* * *

**A/N: **

Thank you to everybody who read, reviewed, followed or favorited (is that a word?) this story. I can't even begin to tell you how incredibly encouraging this is. It was always so much fun to come home to new reviews. Completely made my day. :)

Also, a really big thank you to **kimmiesjoy** for beta-ing this story and for being all around awesome. She made the experience of "popping my fic cherry" (;P) that much more…yeah well, exciting! (no pun intended…I think. LOL)

Now I'm waiting impatiently for Monday night – God, I'm beyond excited for the start of season 5. It will be such a fun ride! Yay!

And who knows, maybe I'll get inspired to write another story one day. No promises though. ;)

Also, have you seen the sneak peek? HOLY ****! Needed resuscitation afterwards. Still not sure if I'm fully recovered yet.


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